Heracles (Canon Ruler)
Heracles (ヘラクレス, Herakuresu), aka "Horse Monarch" (馬王, Baō), "Continent's Monarch" (大陸の王者, Tairiku no Ōja), and "Nightmare", is the strongest of all the Phantom Beast Heracs and the ruler of Area 8. Heracles is one of the powerful and dangerous Eight Kings due to her power and absolute lordship over one of the major continents of Gourmet World. Meaning she is one of the most powerful Beasts in the entire World. Heracles is the mother of a young Herac foal, which is destined to become the next "Horse Monarch". Her current known Capture Level is at 6,200. Appearance Heracles has the same appearance as all adult Heracs, however she has an extremely powerful presence emanating from her body, giving her an almost ethereal glow. Her skin tone is dark brownish green in color with a bright orange mane. Heracles is incredibly huge, dwarfing even an adult Daruma Horse in size. Her body is also covered in numerous scars, most likely from past battles with similarly titanic and powerful foes. After giving birth, Heracles' expression was reported to have become less ferocious and her colorations became brighter and lighter. Personality .]]Heracles is normally a very calm Beast that does not attack unless provoked. Her entire life is spent resting atop Horse King Hill with the rest of the Phantom Herakus, living off of the air from the Air Trees. Her inactivity is believed to be because of the interference from the Blue Nitros regarding the ecosystem of Area 8. Heracles needs vast quantities of air before she's capable of doing most things, but because the Blue Nitros have been preventing the largest source of air in Area 8 -- "Food King" AIR -- from being released into the environment, thereby making the air levels in Area 8 insufficient for Heracles. If she were to do anything major, she would end up destroying everything in Area 8 via oxygen deprivation and would starve herself even faster. In order to prevent this, Heracles remains as inactive as possible, demonstrating that she is a fair and understanding ruler, most likely made possible by her incredibly keen senses. Heracles is also immensely intelligent, proven capable of complex thoughts, shown when she noticed AIR's fall immediately and mentally commented on the importance of the event. Being many centuries old and with her advanced biology, it only seems fitting that her being recognized as a monarch amongst beasts that she would have great intelligence and understanding. Heracles is also one to acknowledge people who have done her a great deed even if they are the very same people who may have threatened her in the beginning as Heracles understands the different circumstances that come and go within her territory. History The last time AIR was recorded as having naturally fallen, tens of thousands of years ago, was when the previous Horse Monarch gave birth to the Heraku that would grow to become Heracles. AIR, having provided enough air for a healthy Heraku foal to be born, who then immediately migrated across the rainbow bridges to the other continents. Heracles' journey began on an island known as the Island of the Future, which connects to Area 7. Because of this, the island has become a legendary place where travelers begin their own journeys on the same bridge as Heracles. Heracles' travels as a young foal established a reputation for terrifying strength which spread across the entirety of the Gourmet World, and gave the young Heraku the name of 'Heracles'. Eventually, Heracles returned to Area 8, became the strongest creature on the continent and became one of the Eight Kings and the "Horse Monarch". The Blue Nitro, after Heracles became the Horse Monarch, developed the techniques and technology needed to artificially and quickly ripen AIR before it could naturally fall from the massive tree it grew on. Because of this, the Heraku breeding cycle was disrupted and Heracles was rendered incapable of giving birth to a healthy Heraku foal, who would be able to grow into the next Horse Monarch. As such, only small and premature Heraku foals have been born in the thousands of ears since the Blue Nitro's discovery. Heracles is unable to to go after AIR due to the beast's massive amounts of strength and the incredible delicacy of the fruit. In the attempt to assist Heracles, the inhabitants of Area 8 began planting numerous Air Trees in and around Horse King Hill to provide supplementary air for Heracles and the foals. So desperate are they in their efforts that they even go as far as to sacrifice themselves to fertilize the trees. Unfortunately, this does not provide enough air for Heracles to be able to give birth to a healthy foal and all newborn Heraku are still too weak. The Daruma Hermit, leader of the inhabitants of Area 8, fears the eventual end of the Horse Monarch line, signifying the eventual end of Area 8 itself. Powers and Abilities As one of the Eight Kings, Heracles' power is unmeasurably high, to the point where her very presence effects the ecosystem of Area 8. Even the life-cycle of the most powerful Heraku has a noticeable effect on the ecosystem. Heracles is so powerful that her performing the simple act of breathing causes the bizarre, dangerous and torrential rains that the ecosystem is known for, leaving little doubt that she is one of the most powerful creatures in the world. She has extraordinarily powerful lungs, allowing her to exhale with enough force to kill and also to inhale all of the air to create a vacuum and deprive possible enemies of oxygen. Her power can even be felt in her hoof-prints, even a thousand years after leaving it. The aura left in the hoof-print is so ferocious that it prevents plants from growing. At the same time, if Heracles was in a good mood when she leaves a hoof-print, the mark becomes an oasis of abundant life. As a Phantom Beast Heraku, Heracles is immortal, being capable of recovering from many injuries and living for numerous centuries. However, her body has several scars on it, which suggests that she has experienced many battles and received devastating wounds that damaged her Gourmet Cells. She, like the rest of the Eight Kings, is also highly aware of the world, capable of sensing even the most minute changes. Techniques |name = |description = Heracles swings her rear leg and hits her opponents with her hoof. This kick is powerful enough, that upon collision with an attack of equal power, the shock is visible from outer space. It is believed that if one receives this kick, and survives, it is been strong enough to launch them into space.}} |name = |description = Heracles inhales an intense amount of air within the specified area where she resides, creating a vacuum which completely deprives the area of air. Any living creature or plant within the area which the technique was used in that require air begin to whither and eventually die due to the lack of oxygen in order to keep alive.}} Relationships Foal Heracles has shown deep maternal instincts as she was willing to use more air than usual in order to finish a battle as fast as possible in order to ensure the safety of her unborn foal. When she finally gave birth, she was clearly in a more peaceful and content state thanks to the fact that it was her first healthy foal in centuries. Bewitching Food World The people of the Bewitching Food World look at Heracles in a similar fashion to the way worshipers look at their guardian deity. Heracles is viewed as a very important factor in the lives of the residents and essential to the continued stability of Area 8's ecosystem. As such, the people of Bewitching Food World plant numerous Air Trees and sacrifice themselves as fertilizer for those trees in order to assist Heracles' survival by helping provide the air she needs. When speaking with Heracles, citizens of Bewitching Food World have showed clear respect for the mighty being and humbly asked for her permission to capture AIR in exchange for their life, demonstrating that Heracles can be spoken to and reasoned with. However, she may disregard dealings if she feels threatened. The people of Bewitching Food World have dreamed that one day they can taste AIR and see a new healthy Horse Monarch be born into the world. Herac Race Deemed rare within the Gourmet World, Phantom Beast Herakus are relatively few in number. Heracles is the representative of the Heraku race, since she is the strongest Heraku in the Gourmet World. Her power and might allows her to stand as the current Horse Monarch and hold the position as one of the Eight Kings. However, with the birth of a healthy foal, taking on the adventure of the Heraku Response, her title as the Horse Monarch will be passed on to the next generation in time. Trivia *The Horse Monarch's name comes from the Greek mythological hero Heracles (Hēraklēs), also known by his later Roman name Hercules. Heracles was a son of the mighty god Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene, making him a demigod particularly renowned for his unparalleled physical strength. *There are many great horses mentioned throughout ancient history and legends, and Heracles could be based on any one of them. **The "Grey of Macha" from Irish legends was referred to as the the king of all horses which bears similarities to Heracles holding the title of "Horse Monarch" **In Greek mythology, the horse Arion is known to be a divine-bred immortal horse which reflects the same characteristics as Heracles who is also known to be a legendary horse endowed with immortality. Category:Area 8 Category:Bewitching Food World Category:Eight Kings Category:Gourmet World Category:Capture Lvl 6000+ Category:Mammal Beast Category:Canon to Fanon